OVERVIEW: Crown Family Philanthropies mostly makes grants in Chicago, although it does have national and international interests as well. Grants fund education, environment, human services, Jewish, and global health initiatives.
IP TAKE: The Crown Family Philanthropies make hundreds of grants each year, most of which stay in Chicago, where it is based. It gives to organizations of every size, and small community groups working in the areas of domestic violence and gun violence prevention may have a good chance here, if they can get on Crown’s radar. The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals, but reach out via email or network with staff to gain a foothold.
PROFILE: Crown Family Philanthropies was founded by Arie and Ida Crown, who, after emigrating from Eastern Europe to Chicago, established the Material Service Corporation. The family’s philanthropy was born in 1947, when the Crowns created the Arie and Ida Crown Memorial. It was renamed Crown Family Philanthropies in 2009 to represent a wider “array of family grantmaking practices.” This funder is dedicated to “partnering with our communities to effect just and lasting social impact across generations” and it works in the spirit of tikkun olam, or “to catalyze and advance just and lasting social impact.” Crown’s grantmaking supports Education, Environment, Global Health, Gun Violence Prevention, Health and Human Services and Jewish Community and Israel. Chicago, where the foundation is based, is a geographic priority.
Grants for Jewish Causes
Crown’s grantmaking for Jewish Community and Israel is its largest area of giving currently. The foundation’s strategy for this work involves support for ” deeply enriching experiences and education continuum that are at the heart of Jewish life,” as well as capacity building for Jewish organizations, Jewish health and human services and programs that combat “antisemitism, hate, and security issues.”
- Major grantees receiving a million or more in funding have included the Board of Jewish Education in New York, the Jim Joseph Foundation, the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago and the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America.
- Other grants to Jewish educational organizations include the Hillel Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, New York’s Prizmah Center for Jewish Day School, the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and the Foundation for Jewish Camp.
- Jewish health and human services grantees include the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago, the Jewish Council for Youth Services of Chicago and Jewish Child and Family Services of Chicago.
- Grants have also supported Israeli causes and U.S. organizations that support Israel. Recipients include the Israel Education Resource Center, the Israel Policy Forum, the American Friends of the Israel Museum and IsraAid.
Grants for Mental Health, Violence Prevention, Housing and Homelessness
The foundation’s Health and Human Services grantmaking program works mainly in the Chicago area to “end homelessness and build capacity in the domestic violence sector.” Small, community organizations number significantly among the foundation’s grantees in this area.
- Grants for homelessness focus on creating and preserving affordable housing, organizations that provide wraparound services to homeless and vulnerable people and increasing local capacity for prevention and response. Grantees include the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, North Side Housing and Supportive Services, Metropolitan Family Services and the Night Ministry, which provides “human connections, housing support, and health care to members of our community who are unhoused or experiencing poverty.”
- Domestic violence funding works broadly to support Chicago’s system capacity, organizational capacity and services for both survivors and abusers. Grantees include the Network Advocating Against Domestic Violence, Deborah’s Place, Sarah’s Circle and Apna Ghar, which provides “culturally competent services to end gender-based violence among immigrant, refugee and marginalized communities.”
Crown also names Gun Violence Prevention as one of its main areas of focus.
- This program also serves Chicago and overlaps with the foundation’s health and human services concerns.
- Giving focuses on mental health and employment services for “high-risk individuals,” gun policy and programs that improve communities’ relationships with police.
- One recent grantee, Chicago Cred, works to “defuse” violence among individuals, groups and communities in areas of Chicago with the highest rates of gun violence.
- Funding has also supported the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, the Institute for Nonviolence of Chicago and the Chicago Police Foundation.
Grants for Education
In addition to its support for Jewish education, Crown supports an array of organizations and initiatives to improve the quality of education in Chicago from quality early childhood education through postsecondary success.
- Early childhood giving is broad, focusing on school- and home-based initiatives that foster kindergarten readiness. Grantees include Start Early, the Carole Robertson Center for Learning and Illinois Action for Children, which advocates for and develops safe, affordable and high-quality child care and early learning opportunities.
- K-12 funding focuses on the development of effective educators and leaders, “with an intentional focus on racial equity.” The foundation has supported the Academy for Urban School Leadership, Teach for America, Educators for Excellence and KIPP Chicago Schools.
- Grants for postsecondary success fund programs that help students prepare for college, develop career paths and initiatives that eliminate barriers to college completion. Grantees include the University of Chicago, the Partnership for College Completion, City Year and National Louis University.
- The foundation also supports research and initiatives that focus on conditions for success at every level of education. Support has gone to the Chicago Public Schools Foundation’s Children First Fund and Ingenuity Incorporated, which works to increase “arts education access, equity and quality” in Chicago’s public K-12 schools.
Grants for Environment, Climate Change, Clean Energy and Freshwater Conservation
Crown’s Environment program is regional in scope, focusing on pressing related to the Great Lakes and aspects of Climate Change affecting the Midwest.
- The Great Lakes subprogram targets programs to improve water quality, protect the Lake Michigan watershed and advance regulations and protections for the Great Lakes at the local, state and federal levels. Grantees include the Alliance for the Great Lakes, American Rivers and Friends of the Chicago River.
- The Climate focus area names clean energy, sustainable food systems and climate justice as its focus areas. This is a somewhat smaller area of giving, but grantmaking is steady in these areas of interest. Funding recipients include the National Forest Foundation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Elevate Energy and the United States Energy Foundation.
Grants for Global Health and Humanitarian Relief
While Crown heavily focuses its investments in the greater Chicago area, it also supports grantmaking for Global Health.
- A significant portion of this work is collaborative. The foundation partners with other organizations “striving towards global health equity” and focuses its giving on “innovative, community-based solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
- Grants have supported efforts to increase the capacity of clinics, train health workers and integrate technology into local services.
- Grantees include VillageReach, Kenya’s Lwala Community Alliance and Last Mile Health, which works with governments to strengthen health infrastructure in rural areas of the world.
Important Grant Details:
While grants have been awarded in amounts as high as $2.8 million, most of Crown’s grant stay below $500,000. In a recent year, this funder made $28,794,500 in grants.
- More than half of this funder’s grantmaking stays in Chicago. U.S. national, Israeli and global organizations account for only a fraction of its giving.
- This foundation’s largest recent grants have supported education, Jewish causes and the Chicago community.
- The foundation clearly articulates its areas of interest on its website but accepts proposals by invitation only.
- Submit general inquiries to the foundation via email at granthelp@crown-chicago.com. The foundation’s phone number is (312) 750-6671.
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